In Rapid City, South Dakota, Native athletes and community members are coming together as an annual event, cancelled in 2020 due to COVID, makes its return.

Pictured: White River competes against Crow Creek in the 2019 LNI. Photo credits to Justin Wickersham/NewsCenter 1

The 44th Annual Lakota Nation Invitational (LNI) is currently underway in Rapid City, South Dakota.

The basketball tournament was first held in 1976 amidst ongoing turmoil on the Pine Ridge Reservation and a tense atmosphere following the occupation of Wounded Knee by the American Indian Movement three years prior. Predominately-white schools in South Dakota refused to play Native teams from Pine Ridge, leading Lakota basketball coach Bryan Brewer to start a tournament for Native schools in the region. The event has since become a hub for athletic and cultural activity: volleyball matches, academic competitions, Lakota language and cultural presentations, traditional hand games, a poetry slam, and a wrestling tournament all take place simultaneously as basketball teams compete on the main court. This week, we spoke with Standing Rock tribal member, Lakota Language teacher, and former LNI competitor Reuben FastHorse about the LNI and the unique style of basketball played at the tournament.

Teams from reservations often play in a "run-and-gun" style, Reuben explained. According to him, the speedy runs and quick, agile movements which characterize run-and-gun basketball likely stem from battle tactics employed by Lakota warriors on the Plains. To Native communities, Reuben shared, “[Basketball] is not just a game, its more than that. We’ve changed it into our game. We are masters of adaptation: we have had to adapt, by necessity, to this world." He also highlighted the evolution of the dynamic between the Native and non-Native communities in Rapid City as a result of the tournament, noting that the police escort of this week's LNI grand entrance caravan demonstrates progress in the town's cross-cultural relations. "The LNI is that springboard for many people to know and see Native Americans all year round." Wopila, Reuben, for sharing your knowledge of this topic!

Join the Tipi Raisers family as we seek to reconcile this complicated history and alleviate the conditions of poverty that are a direct result of it! To learn more about this and other Indigenous issues, email mackenzie@thetipiraisers.org to sign up for our newsletter!

Additional sources include: Coverage of this topic from KNBN NewsCenter 1, Sports Illustrated, South Dakota Public Broadcasting, and the New Yorker.